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Pergamum was a prominent religious centered city that was north of Smyrna. Within it were multiple religions and cults that worship various gods that were known throughout the known world at that time. Here a small group had come together in all honesty to worship Christ. This letter from Jesus is His message to them.

Revelation 2:12 – And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: “The words of Him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”

CHRIST THE JUDGE: The sharp two-edged sword refers to the Word of God. As stated in Dr. Walvoord’s commentary on the book Revelation: “Its representation as a double-edged sword indicates on the one hand the way God’s Word, by its promise and message of salvation, cuts loose the chains of sin and condemnation that bind the helpless sinner. On the other hand, the same Word is the means of condemnation and refection of those who refuse the message of grace. The Word of God is both the instrument of salvation and the instrument of death.”

Revelation 2:13 – “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

COMMENDATION: Jesus gives them praise for continuing to exist in as He Himself states “where Satan dwells.” He also mentions a man named Antipas who had been martyred. Nothing is known of him save that he died for Christ who called him His “faithful witness.” Those there tried to stay faithful to His name.
Now there are those that believe that the gods in all the ancient Polytheistic cultures were none other than the fallen angels which included their leader Satan. When you actual think upon it there is some credence to this being true. So Jesus making the statement that this is “where Satan’s throne is” could actually pertain to a temple of Zeus which was one of the gods worshiped here since most times Statues of him showed him seated upon a throne.

Revelation 2:14-15 – “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teachings of the Nicolaitans”

Here is the last time the “Nicolaitans” are mentioned and again no detail is given and so their acts fall into the darkness of history only to ever be seen again upon the day of the Great White Throne Judgment when their membership will stand exposed before God as He passes judgment upon them.
Also mentioned thou is the false prophet Balaam found in Numbers 22-25. In Numbers 31 we find that he had advised King Balak to corrupt Israel by tempting them to intermarry with pagan women and begin worshiping their wife’s gods in acts which included eating sacrificed food and precipitating various sexual immoralities. Some within the church had fallen prey to these practices. The same is true today for those churches that have embraced and welcomed homosexuality into their churches.
This same mentality is the mentality that embraced the church as a whole soon after Constantine allow them to worship God freely and openly. Shortly after attempts to bring into it the use of pagan rituals which entered the church and began to defile the structure of the church. This is also per Dr. Walvoord where the beginning elements of Catholicism began to take hold with the church adding rituals which were never given to the church by Christ.

Revelation 2:16 – “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”

Again I turn directly to the words of Dr. Walvoord: “In this abrupt command, Christ issued a sharp word to the church at Pergamum – and their modern counterparts. Even though many in the church at Pergamum had been faithful and one of their number had dies as a martyr, it was still true that the church was being invaded by an evil so serious that Christ warned He would fight against it. There is no alternative to continued impurity and compromise with the truth but divine judgment. The apostasy that is seen in it early stage in the church at Pergamum has its culmination in the still-future apostate church in Revelation 17, which is ultimately brought into divine judgement by Christ, the Head of the church.”

Revelation 2:17 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who received it.”

Again there is the exhorting for those that can hear to hear, for not all will. For those that do hear and overcome the sins listed against the church of Pergamum they are promised not only a special mana that is hidden to the world, but they are to receive a white stone on which a name only known to the Trinity and those that are given this stone.

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The city of Smyrna was about thirty-five miles north of Ephesus. It too was a wealthy city, second only to the afore mentioned city south of it. Today though Smyrna still exists yet under a new name. It is the third largest city in Turkey and is called Izmir. It was a commercial center at that the end of the first century since it had a good harbor.

Revelation 2:8 – and to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”

CHRIST THE ETERNAL ONE. When the Glorified Christ called Himself “the first and the last” He identified Himself with God, who in the first chapter of Revelation was referred to as “the Alpha and the Omega.” This statement showed that not only was He the Son of God, but was as well God even though He has taken human form as is denoted in the next part of the salutation. He was the one “who died and came to life.” This shows that even though He took human form He has always been and always will exist since he rose from the dead upon the third day.
By Him dying and rising also shows God’s love for all, by the fact that Christ came down and suffered for our sins and became our replacement for the death we all so deserve. However, He rose from the dead as we are promised to stand a live before His Father the Lord God, clean and unblemished by the sacrifice of His blood.

Revelation 2:9 – “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the lander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan”

Those that followed Christ in the city of Smyrna were under persecution. To the point that they had been denied the ability to possible work within the city making them destitute. They most likely resorted to menial tasks to get by and survived, but still stayed loyal to their belief in God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amongst those that were against them were those that were once of Jacob, but had abandoned their belief in God to a belief in the world and all that includes and so they embraced their new master Satan.

Revelation 2:10-11 – “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

This persecution they were experiencing was only the beginning of their trials. They would strife and hold onto their faith and become strong in their belief that God and His Son are both real.
It is recorded that approximately sixty years later the bishop of Smyrna named Polycarp was burned alive on a Saturday, for the historian and commentator Ryrie states that the wood gathered was in part was provided by the fallen away Jews that gathered this wood on the Sabbath.
Even though under persecution Jesus exhorts them to stand fast to their faith and belief in Him. For by doing so even though it may last their entire life upon this planet it is remember that this life here is like the blink of an eye to what the rest of our true life will be like in length. For Jesus promise them the “crown of life” another reference to eternal life. All life that will last billions of years.
The persecution the church as a whole was also in the process as it was for those at Smyrna. It continued until Constantine granted Christians the freedom of worshiping within the Rome Empire in the early part of the fourth century.

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The letters to the churches begins in chapter 2 of the book of Revelation. Now to understand the letters we must understand the cities themselves and the time period. The book of Revelation was written in the last decade of the first century A.D. Sixty years after Jesus walked upon the earth. John is an old man now and exiled to the isle of Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian. Most that has actually seen Christ are old like John or have gone on to be with Christ if they called Him their Savior.
Ephesus at the end of the first century was the most prominent city in Asia Minor. In fact all seven of these cities, either ruin or still standing in some form, are found within the boundaries of Turkey.
Of the seven churches Ephesus is the only one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Acts, as well as having a letter sent to them that become a part of the Bible, the book of Ephesians. Evidence supports that pastor at large for Ephesus was Timothy of first and second Timothy, but as mentioned before most that actually had walked or met Christ were gone now.
The state of the church in the 90s A.D. were the next generation of people that chose to become Christian. Most were raised from birth on the tales and stories of the miracle worker know as Jesus Christ that rose from the dead, but they had never actually seen Him.

Revelation 2:1 – To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: “The words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”

CHRIST THE SOVEREIGN JUDGE: The Glorified Christ is shown here to be holding the seven stars or angels of the seven churches, as well as He walks amongst the seven golden lampstands which are the churches themselves. This to me means Christ Himself as toured the churches first hand and is fully prepared to comment upon their state and what He thinks needs to be done in each to correct any issues that are found. The holding of the stars means that not only that He has authority over the churches, but they are in fact sanctioned to exist under His blessing. So those within it have stated they wish to be a child of Christ and have bowed before Him and asked Him into their lives.

Revelation 2:2-3 – “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

COMMENDATION: Christ as seen that those in Ephesus have been diligent in their faith and have even tested those that paraded themselves to be messengers of Christ, but were found to be false. So here Jesus finds things happening within this church that please Him and so it states has such.

Revelation 2:4-5 – “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

INDICTMENT: The word “love” used here is “Agapen” is the deepest most meaningful type of love and because they have fallen from this first love they were seen by Christ Himself as of having a major problem because he used the word “repent” meaning to turn around, do a 180.
When Christ walked amongst us He added two commandments to the ten we already had. The first and most important of these was to Love God with all our heart, mind and soul. To love God with the human trinity to show love to the Holy Trinity. To love God though His the Son the Lord Jesus Christ so completely means we are to place God first and foremost in all that we do. Every single action that we do must be done thinking of: “How would Jesus do this?” “How would God want me to do this?” Every single action we do in our lives and every single day of our lives.
These were teaches that this church knew for the gospels had been in their possession at this time, and they had heard these very words spoken of from within them.
This re-emphasizes just how important it is to live like an image of Christ 365 days a year not just on Sunday or when it is convenient. For Christ Himself says to “repent” for they had strayed away from their love for Christ. They hearts had cooled for God and thus opened the door for a falling away and due to this falling away Jesus threatened to remove their lampstand. The lampstand was removed in 431 when the last inhabitants of Ephesus were forcibly removed by the Turks.

Revelation 2:6 – “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Who the “Nicolaitans” were no one knows. The mere fact that any true history of them has ceased to exist shows just how much Jesus Christ despised them, for all we have left of them is a meager mention of their name twice in this book and both times it is not in a flattering light.

Revelation 2:7 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant at eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

Here we see that not all will hear the words and understand them and that this message is given through the Holy Spirit. Those that do hear and overcome are promised to eat of the “tree of life,” in other word granted eternal life in the service of God.
Here we see how as a church as a whole at the end of the first century was starting to drift away from Christ. For they had not seen Him. They did not know Him as a person, but a tale told to them by their elders. This is true now as well in many. They see God and Jesus as a story, a fairy tale. Not realizing Jesus was real and there is evidence that still exists that say yes Jesus is real and what He did was real as will and what He offers to all is just as real.

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This last week I started restudying the book of Revelation. To do this I decided this time as I did with the Book of Daniel to use a commentary to gain a better insight into the word of God. Now I have tried more than one and found only one to be really of any true worth.
The Walvoord Commentary series is what I would recommend. In most areas with them I have had little conflict with what was represented. I did find that Dr. John F. Walvoord, or the editors, since he has gone on to be with Christ, that he is anti-Catholic, but he gives a good argument for this in one the churches to be discussed. I also found him to be pro-Baptist, which I actually feel is not a good thing. He had the belief of “once saved always saved.” This, I personally believe, has become an open door to apathy thus helping to create the state of the falling away from God we are now experiencing in Christianity today.
Now it is important to get a grasp upon the most important element within the Bible, especially the New Testament. It was written for those that have already become true followers of Jesus Christ. It is for those that have fallen to their knees and bowed before Him and asked Him into their hearts. It is a guide book into striving to become a true reflection of our Savior. So when John is writing these letters to the seven churches it is to those that committed within their hearts to truly be Christian. Now most in this world say they are Christian, because they have gone to church when they were young in most cases, but they never truly surrender their lives to following the Son of God. This is apathy, this is a sin. This is why people have such a hard time understanding the Bible, let alone striving to follow it teachings. They think they are Christian, but in reality they aren’t. This has occurred not only due to Catholicism, but also due to Baptist teaching, both of which are man-made doctrines and not given by God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus gave us the true baptism which occurs after you commit your heart and soul to Christ, something that is impossible for a baby to do. Christ gave us the taking of unleavened bread a simple of His body and of wine the symbol of His blood. These are the only ceremonies given to the Church. He also taught that those that have been saved can fall away from their salvation due to freewill. Christ Himself made this clear in John 15. It is reinforced in 2 Peter 2 as well as in two of the letters going to be discussed in this series. For these letters were given to the “messengers” of the seven churches and so as Christ says at the end to every church “He that hath an ear, let him hear…”
Here is an important element that the Walvoord Commentary brought to light to me that when thought upon actually makes sense. The state of the churches even though contemporary for they can exist as contemporaries in other churches that now exist. However, this is what I found enlightening is that the state of the churches are also linear. Meaning they follow one after the other throughout the church age. The first church being the church at the time the letters are written to the last church being the state of the church as a whole is at the time when it is near the end of times or the time for what is stated within Revelation to actually take place.

For those that are unfamiliar with history. The dark ages is the time that occurred upon the fall of the Roman Empire and truly did not end until the Renaissance. With the Renaissance it must also be noted that the Reformation took place as well. In all actuality they are truly tied together, but most will deny this. The dark ages was a period in which much blood was spilt and boarders defined as human sought to have governance over other humans. Simply man seeking to rule and control his own life instead of submitting himself to God.
All humans go through their own dark ages. Some never emerge from the darkness. Other go through periods of light and then once again return to darkness. Some never emerging into the light while others do.
I have been going through my own dark ages of late. Thus the absence of my blogs as of late.
Once again as light starts to shine upon me. I again start to see the glory and wonders of God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Have I fully emerged into the light? No, nor do I think any of us truly ever do. Due to our corrupt bodies we are forced to occupy in this temporal existence.
Once again I am certain that humans can and do lose their Salvation. Am I saying this has happened to me? No. For I know due to my desire to please God that I am still covered in the blessed salvation of the blood of Christ.
It is this longing to love and serve God that is a sign of true salvation.
Yet, I know there are those that will challenge this very statement. For I have heard them with my own ears. It is made clear within the Bible that we are to place God at the center of our universe, which is our life.
This is the realization that came to being within the Renaissance. For before this most believed the earth to be the center of this solar system and the universe beyond. They learned though that the sun is the center of this solar system. As time has gone on humanity has learned that not only was earth not at the center of it all. They also have learned that we are not even in the center of the galaxy, yet off on the edge. They have since learned that this galaxy is not even at the center of the universe, bur off toward the end of an off shot off to the side.
When someone truly accepts Christ and desires to follow the teachings of the Bible they come to realize that their life. Their desires. Their wants. Are of no importance.
Millions go about saying they are a child of God. Yet at the core of their universe is themselves. This is not salvation, nor is it anywhere near being called that. In fact it is called hedonism. Again, many will challenge this.
However, if they really seek to examine their lives they will see that it is not God that they think of but themselves. Their lusts. Their desires. Their wants. We all suffer from this affliction, and when it occurs we enter into our own private dark ages.
What is important is to come to acknowledge this. But how can it be recognized when many are taught that once they accept Christ all is will. That they are saved, and can never lose their salvation.
Yet this is not what the Bible itself teaches. (John 15, 2 Peter 2, Revelation 3) You can be broken from the vine, which is Jesus Christ. You can be led away from Christ. Your name can be blotted out from the Book of Life, which is why you are blind and naked before God.
Yet many refuse to accept this truth.
The other day I mentioned this very point; about being broken off form the vine of Jesus Christ. The person changed the subject because they did not wish to face the reality of the evidence from the words of Jesus Christ Himself.
We are to follow ALL the teachings of the Bible. We are not live in adultery. We are not to steal. We are not to tattoo our bodies. Yet many that call themselves “Christian.” Do all these things and think they are one with God. For when they commit these sins they are thinking of only one thing. Themselves.
We all do this. We all enter into darkness, which we must address, confront and then end with the help of God through Jesus Christ.

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I always find it difficult to re-enter the work place especially after a long weekend.
Why?
Well I can tell you it is not due to the fact of laziness or the desire to not to drive in traffic.
The real factor in it is that I see how separate I am from the world and those that choose to live within it.
The first thing I encountered was the heavy and detailed discussions of the sporting universe.
At this time of year it is football, but no matter the time of year it is one sport or the other that is the main focus of those about me.
They quote stats, know salaries, and even playing styles.
These are the real gods of most of today’s society. I will almost guarantee that if I was in Europe the topic would be soccer a.k.a. the real football to those in Britain and the E.U.
In reality per the Bible who is to be the focal point of our everyday life and thoughts?

[Jeopardy theme song playing in this blank area]

Ok so what did come up with?
Your church?
Your children?
Yourself?
The answer is God.
God is to be the center of our lives. With all our hearts, minds and souls, we are to focus all our thoughts throughout the day.
When God is first you may like some sports, but they are not to be the central focal point of your everyday existence within this temporal plain.
You may enjoy some entertainment.
We are to live in moderation. We can enjoy some elements some of the time, but once these enjoyments take up more and more of your live then you are living an imbalanced life and destine to fall. As is typical when out of balance.
This is especially true when God, if even thought upon at all, is a sideshow within your life.
This mean you are not following the teachings of Christ and have strayed from the message of salvation.
Think upon that for a while.

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As I stated previously I have begun studying more deeply into the history of the Bible itself. Something I would encourage all to pursue.
Many things I was already aware of, but in the last few days as I was looking into the history of the gospel of Luke I found something new.
The Doctor Luke, a friend and companion of Paul, and a gentile, wrote both the gospel and the book of Acts as two books that are separate, but are in essence meant to be read together. Some Bible even go so far as to right the title of the books as “Luke-Acts.”
They act in concert one to the other and were meant to be an aid to someone that was seeking more insight into Jesus and ministry of the apostles that followed.
Extremely fascinating.

A study of “Gospel mystery of the Sanctification” by Walter Marshall part 2

Even then. Someone saw the true message within the Bible. That our relationship with God was one that needs constant attention on our side of the relationship.
God, and Jesus made it clear. On their part of the relationship they would never abandon us or, for a point of fact, anyone. It is the human. It is you. It is me. It is those that deny Him. It is those that turn from Him. It is those that hate Him.
As for those that call themselves “Christian.” A majority need an awakening. Those that are “Sunday Christians,” which means they go to church, sing a song, say a pray. Then the rest the week they live their life as they see fit.

Direction 2: Several endowments and qualifications are necessary to enable us for the immediate practice of the law. Particularly we must have an inclination and propensity of our hearts thereunto; and therefore we must be well persuaded of our reconciliation with God, and of our future enjoyment of the everlasting heavenly happenings, and of sufficient strength both to will and perform all duties acceptably, until we come to the enjoyment of that happiness.

In this Direction, and the following explanation given by Marshall, is his insight into how the love relationship truly is. This is spelled out in the book of Hosea. God’s love is eternal, everlasting and given to all equally. And yes I mean ALL of humanity.
It is human beings that are fickle and cruel. It is humanity that flirts with God and then the moment something arises that stimulates their lust and desires they run to it no matter the cost. Marshall explains that it has always been this way since the time of Adam and Eve. I must say that I totally agree with this conclusion.
We must also come to an understanding that even though we seek after and ask for salvation from Jesus Christ. We are still within a corrupt and sinful body that will strive to be fickle whenever it gets the chance. This is why he emphasis the need to follow the laws within the Bible. For by striving to know and understand these laws when the temptation to be fickle arises once again within our corruption we can strive with the help of Jesus Christ to overcome this desire, this lust. Because we will see it for what it is and turn to pray for assistance and guidance.
He also makes it clear that we must be inclined to do this. We must seek to follow the teachings of the Bible out of a true love for God, His Son and the Word of God.
He also makes it clear that our true happiness is not in this temporal world we now occupy, but in the everlasting and eternal that is yet to be. He understood from his point of view that it would be heavenly.
As we come into the end of the age of the Gentiles. We must take the next step and come to realize that it is not a heavenly happiness but an eternal life. A life that will feel and be seen as we now do. With the expectation of it being in an incorruptible body that will last for all eternity in the service of God.

The other day I watched a video of a 15 your old Jewish boy who experienced a near-death experience. He encountered events that can be said to be prophetic, but at this same time there is room for doubt since some things do not fit with the books Daniel or Revelation. However it must be stated that his insight was of a Jewish nature and not a Christian one.
One thing that stuck out was a point that the Orthodox Rabbi interviewing the boy keyed in on was repentance.
Repentance is to turn away from sin and toward God.
Without true repentance there is no salvation. Now I want this to sink in, so I will repeat it.
Without true repentance there is no salvation.
This means we must act with our minds, our hearts and our souls to reject sin. (Matthew 22:37, Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5)
Will we be able to stop it all? No, but we must strive daily to end sin.
What is of more import is that the Bible lists sins that will guarantee that those committing these sin will not be allowed into the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9 – Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Revelation 21:8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
If you say that you accept God yet live daily living these sins you have not repented.
Acts 3:19 – Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.
Acts 17:30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”
People may have taught you that once you are saved you are always saved. This is a lie.
People may have taught you that God loves all. This is true, but God Himself places a condition upon those seeking to be embraced by Him. That stipulation is repentance, true and complete no matter the emotional pain you must endure at this time. For the physical pain you are assured that will last billions upon billions of years is far greater than what you will experience now.

When we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask for out daily bread. Due to the increase in population hunting and farming became impossible for all to accomplish, so now we have jobs.
The employer is the “master,” who promises to pay you your money needed to go to the store and acquire food to place before you daily. This allows God to provide you your daily bread as you the employee and thus the “slaves” as shown in the Bible.
Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. 9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
When you come into work late, when you extend you work break, if you have them, and if you do not perform your job to the best of your ability. You are disrespecting and insulting God. This is why I have stated in the past, it is both faith and works.
So get to your place of employment early. Work with honor and quality, ad with respect. For the salary you receive is your daily bread that is given to you by God. All that you do with this money must be God centered, not self-centered.